In response to increased concerns about general and residential security, the market for home security systems is growing at an accelerated pace as an important part of two broader markets, namely, all electronic security systems, and home automation. According to industry statistics, the global market for electronic security systems is expected to grow to approximately $80 billion by 2020, while market size for home security systems is projected to increase by an average nine percent per year in 2015-2020 from less than $30 billion in 2015 to reach $47.5 billion in 2020. North America represents the largest part of the market for residential home security systems. Key players in the electronic security system products and services, measured by cumulative numbers of installed units in the United States, are ADT, Monitronics International, Vivint Inc., Tyco Integrated Security, and Vector Security Inc., with combined 9.5 million units installed, of which ADT is by far the largest vendor with over six million installed units.
Electronic security requirements and solutions for various types of dwellings, such as tower blocks, regular apartment blocks, condominiums, and private homes are noticeably different. Accordingly, residential security companies are offering a large spectrum of electronic security products, systems and services, ranging from basic alarms and panic buttons to video surveillance (CCTV) solutions. Differentiated assessments of market size for various residential security products must also take into account the existing demographics and property distribution by categories. Census data indicate roughly 76 million of free-standing, owner or renter occupied, single family homes in the US and almost 56 million of those are in lightly populated areas, outside of city centers and dense urban environments. Only 30% of such homes currently have any kind of a home security system, which illustrates a strong unsatisfied demand for home security systems in the US.
Notwithstanding significant progress in developing home security systems and services, current product offerings are inviting significant improvements. The core design of home security systems has not advanced in several decades. For example, magnetic entry sensors paired with a control unit connected to a landline represent the basic system design known since the early 1970s, and even with the use of wireless sensors and cellular connections, contemporary systems continue to utilize the same design and principles. Similarly, video surveillance has not changed dramatically since the invention of CCTV systems. The setup of a home surveillance system still requires expensive installation, extensive wiring and obtrusive mounting of cameras. Additionally, the cameras are predominantly mounted on the very houses that they are trying to protect, which results in less than optimal observation angles. Moreover, the experience using a typical home security system is cumbersome. Monitoring alerts, DVR systems and mobile applications provided with these systems are complex, fragmented and offer a subpar user experience.
Recent advances in the use of mobile solutions paired with smartphones, and rudimentary use of drones for inspection represents a promising opportunity for commercial and DIY (Do-It-Yourself) home security systems but remain scattered and only partially address the noted flaws in current market offerings.
Accordingly, it is desirable to create a home security system that benefits from advances in sensor technology, autonomous navigation capabilities, wireless mobile applications and cloud services.